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Symposium to Explore Immigration Policy and Reform

Rutgers University–Camden’s free public Symposia on Urban Poverty and Inequality series will conclude with the fourth and final installment, “Immigration Policy and Reform: The Imperative for Creating Pathways to Citizenship and Prosperity,” from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, April 22. The symposium will illuminate the causes of failed immigration policy and its consequences for both the residents of poor cities and the nation as a whole.

The event, which is free of charge and open to the general public, will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room on the main level of the Campus Center.

Registration is required. To register, contact Ana Rivera at 856-225-6348.

The esteemed panel, featuring experts and activists in immigration policy, will discuss the notion that the United States is a nation of immigrants, yet has adopted policies that prevent sectors of immigrant populations from entering and fully participating in America’s democracy, in addition to being anti-family, anti-employment, and threatening to America’s future economic viability.

Speakers will be Clarissa Martinez, director of civic engagement and immigration for the National Council of La Raza; Linda Bosniak, a distinguished professor at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden; and Marisol Conde-Hernandez, co-founder of the New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition at Rutgers University–Newark.

According to the organizers, research from the Center for American Progress confirms that legalizing the United States’ undocumented immigrant population would add a cumulative $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next decade. In New Jersey, at 28 percent of the population, immigrants are a substantial part of the workforce and bring about $47 billion in revenue to the state. Furthermore, the immigrant population is crucial to the future, although thousands of young intelligent and talented youth – the DREAMers, individuals who meet the requirements of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act – are not permitted to enter college.

The symposia series addresses the growing social, economic, and political inequality gaps in the United States’ most impoverished urban communities. The discussions bring together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to address the problem of growing inequality and its serious ramifications in the United States.

The series is co-sponsored by the Community Leadership Center at Rutgers–Camden.

For the fifth consecutive year, Rutgers University–Camden has been named a Military Friendly School by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs magazine. The honor recognizes the university as one of the elite post-secondary schools for student veterans in the nation.

As anyone who has been near the heart of any of the Rutgers University Campuses this month knows, it is the human element that makes them feel so vibrant and alive. You can feel the energy. It starts with our students—with more than 67,000 undergraduate and graduate students now at Rutgers.

From historic RCA Victor recordings to the soundtracks of daily life, the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts will showcase the rich, audible heritage of its host city as it presents the exhibition “Sounds of Camden.”